I've seen USA McDermott cues from a generation ago where I think there were using a high tech UV? That stuff was like 1/32 thick,LOL.
One of my first customers for something other than a tip or ferrule brought me a new shaft but wanted it to fit a different joint style McD butt where the pin fit nice and "waxy",the first time I had ever felt a fit this nice on a shaft,and the joint was perfectly centered as well,just .016 oversized.
After I resized it,and blended back as nice as I could get it,I still never touched bare wood,the finish was that thick and tough
. It looked like it had been cleared again after wet Micro Mesh,unfortunately this was before cell phone pics were a thing.
I also did an experiment where I used a guitar repair technique where I used thin CA glue and drop-filled a spot about the size of a cigarette burn on the butt sleeve and blended it back to where you had to look for it,all without actually touching real wood. Tommy D.